I wouldn't pick a boat because it did, or didn't have a rudder; there are other considerations that are far more important. My thought is that for whatever additional flexibilty that a rudder might afford, the extra cables and controls are likely to cause some problems. As I said before, I prefer the British style and I've never encountered any situation where I would have wanted a rudder. That said, I would not turn away from a boat with a rudder. My sister just bought a very nice boat that came with a rudder--on my recommendation. She thinks the boat is great and by the way, she has yet to use the rudder.